Carrie Stover

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference office announced the selection of recent University of Michigan graduate Carrie Stover (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) as a recipient of the inaugural Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award.

One of 498 athletes from every Big Ten institution and 32 different sports honored by the league, she is one of three water polo athletes recognized joining Lauren Wyckoff (Los Altos, Calif./Los Altos) and Kelsey Campbell (Maple Ridge, B.C./Maple Ridge Secondary) of Indiana University.

"We are proud of the academic accomplishments of our Big Ten Distinguished Scholars," said Michigan Director of Athletics Bill Martin. "They compete hard in the classroom and in the arena and we applaud all of their success. They devote a lot of time and energy to their academic and athletic pursuits and it is great to have them recognized."

The honor is based upon the grade-point average (GPA) from the previous academic year only, compared to the Academic All-Big Ten honorees who are selected based on cumulative GPA. To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and have earned a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous fall and winter semesters. Graduate students are also eligible, as long as he/she did not graduate before completing the two 2008-09 semesters.

A four-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Academic, University of Michigan Academic Achievement Award and Collegiate Water Polo Association Scholar-Athlete recipient, Stover concluded her career with 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists) and 52 steals in 122 games while helping the Wolverines to four CWPA Western Division titles (2006-09), consecutive Eastern Championships and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament appearances (2008-09).